Laundry centrifuging machine with improved clothes container



Aug. 25, 1964 J. BOCHAN ETAL 3,146,196

LAUNDRY CENTRIFUGING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED CLOTHES CONTAINER Filed Sept.13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS :roHN BOCHAN SEVERFLTT o. MOREY "WWWT'HEJR ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1964 J. BocHAN ETAL 3,146,196

LAUNDRY CENTRIFUGING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED CLOTH-ES CONTAINER FiledSept. 13, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS J'OHN BOCHAN GEVERETT 0. MORE(mam ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,146,196 LAUNDRY CENTRIFUGING MACHINEWITH IMPROVED CLOTHES CONTAINER John Bochan and Everett D. Morey,Louisville, Ky., as-

signors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York FiledSept. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 223,333 1 Claim. (Cl. 210380) This inventionrelates to laundry centrifugal extraction machines such as, forinstance, automatic washers and combination washer-dryers. Moreparticularly, it relates to an arrangement which provides a clothescontainer structure having an improved liquid removal effect for a givenrotational speed.

In the course of investigating the phenomenon of centrifugal extractionof liquid from clothes, it has been found that the extraction iseffected primarily by the application of hydrostatic tension toliterally suck the water out of the clothes, and that the squeezing ofthe clothes that occurs as a result of centrifuging is of very minorimportance. In conformity with these findings, it was discovered thatthe clothes at the inside of a relatively thick layer of clothesplastered about the wall of a container during centrifuging became drierfor a given speed than clothes at the inside of a relatively thin layer.

It is an object of our invention to provide a new and improved containerconstruction in a centrifugal extraction laundry machine which improvesthe liquid extraction performance for a given rotational speed.

A more specific object of our invention is to provide such a containerwherein the improved liquid extraction is achieved by forming theperipheral wall of the clothes container of an absorbent material whichhas the apparent effect of thickening the clothes layer so that allclothes within the basket actually are at the inner part of the layer ofmaterial.

We achieve these goals, according to our invention, by providing, in alaundry centrifugal extraction machine, a rotatable clothes container inwhich the outer wall is formed of absorbent material, and means forrotating the container at a speed sufficient to centrifuge liquid out ofthe clothes in the container. With this structure, when the clothes areplastered against the outer wall, they actually constitute the innerpart of a layer of material in which a hydrostatic tension is created bycentrifugal force and in which the material of the outer wall itselfconstitutes the outer part of the layer.

The subject matter which constitutes our invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. The invention itself, however, as to organization andmethod of operation together with further objects and advantagesthereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a rear elevational view of a horizontal axis type washerwith the rear panel removed to illustrate details;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the machine, partly in sectionand with certain surfaces broken away to show details; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view in cross section showinga second embodiment of our invention.

3,146,196 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 of thedrawings, there is shown a horizontal axis clothes washing machine as alaundry machine typical of those in which our invention may beincorporated. The machine has its operating elements included within anouter cabinet structure having a central wrap around section 1. Section1 is supported on a base and toeboard assembly 2, and carries a separatetop 3 on which is supported a backsplash panel 4. Panel 4 may, as shown,be mounted on posts 5 and is conventionally provided with appropriateelectrical con trol devices (not shown) for controlling various types ofwashing and liquid extracting sequences.

Access to the interior of the machine is provided by a door 6 formed insection 1, mounted on concealed hinges and opened by any suitable meanssuch as, for instance, a knee operated latch control 7. As best shown inFIG- URE 2, the machine is of non-vertical axis type, in this particularcase the axis being horizontal. The machine has a clothes basket orreceptacle 8 mounted for rotation on a generally horizontal axis withinan outer enclosing tub structure 9. Basket 8 includes an outerperipheral wall which is formed of a thin sheet of metal 10 madeforaminous by the provision of a substantial number of perforations 11(FIGURE 2), and which is lined on its inner side by a relatively thicklayer 12 of an absorbent material, such as felt for instance. Inaddition to felt, of course, other suitable absorbent materials such asporous ceramic, and various types of fabrics, may be provided. Theessential point is that the material be one which is absorbent in thesame manner that clothes tend to absorb liquid, and therefore capable ofestablishing a hydrostatic tension in cooperative relationship with theclothes when the clothes are pressed against the layer 12 and acentrifugal force is exerted. At its rear end, the outer peripheral wallof the basket 8 is closed by means of a suitable wall or plate 13. Thebasket also includes a front wall 14 which is formed so as to define anaccess loading opening 15 in registry with an opening 16 in wrap aroundsection 1 provided for the door 6. The basket is rotatably supported bya shaft 17 which is mounted in an elongated bearing 18 supported fromthe rear wall 19 of tub 9. The tub is also provided with an opening 20aligned with opening 16 and opening 15 so that clothes may be placedinto and removed from the basket when door 6 is opened. The door issealed against a suitable gasket 21 during operation of the machine.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1, during operation of the machinethe basket is driven from an electric motor 22. The drive from the motorto the basket includes a pulley 23 which is secured to the motor shaftso as to rotate therewith and over which passes a belt 24. Belt 24drives an adjustable sheave assembly 25 of the type which is well knownfor use in achieving variable output speeds from a constant input speedsource. The adjustable sheave assembly in turn operates a belt 26 tocause rotation of a pair of pulleys 27 and 28 which preferably form aunitary assembly. The rotation of pulley 28 is passed on through a belt29 to a pulley 30 which is secured on the basket shaft 17.

In this manner, motor 22 may be driven at a constant speed, and, throughthe adjustable sheave assembly 25, the speed imparted to pulley 30 andbasket 8 may be varied so as to provide an appropriate range of speedsfor the basket. For instance, for tumbling purposes during the washingand rinsing operation, a speed of approximately 47 rpm. may be providedto basket 8; tumbling may be assisted by appropriate vanes 30a extendingin- Wardly from the peripheral wall of basket 8. A centrifuging speed ofseveral hundred r.p.m. may be provided to the basket for effectingcentrifugal extraction of liquid from the clothes prior to removal ofclothes from the basket.

The operation of the variable speed drive briefly described above doesnot form a part of the present invention and is merely set forth toprovide a substantially complete description of an operative machine. Adetailed description of such a drive is provided, for instance, inPatent 2,970,464 issued on February 7, 1961, to John W. Toma andassigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of the presentinvention.

The means whereby water is admitted to and discharged from tub 9 duringoperation of the machine are particularly shown in FIGURE 1. The watersupply means includes connections 32 and 33 through which hot and coldwater is supplied to the machine for the washing operation. A valvecontrolled by solenoid 34 admits hot water to the machine and a valvecontrolled by an opposed solenoid 35 admits cold water to the machine.The hot and cold water valves under the control of the solenoids 34 and35 discharge through a common outlet conduit 36, through a suitable airgap, and then through a funnel 37 to a sump 38 formed at the bottom oftub 9. Connection of the funnel to the sump may be made through asuitable conduit 39 a portion of which is shown in FIGURE 1. The air gapprovided by the funnel 37 makes it impossible for the water to besiphoned from the machine and thus to contaminate the incoming watersupply line. A pressure actuated sensing device or water level control40 controls both solenoids 34 and 35 to maintain the proper water levelin the machine during the washing operation. Sensing device 40 isconnected to the interior of tub 9 by a suitable line 41.

The wash and rinse water, after use, is discharged from the machinethrough the sump 38 mounted at the bottom of tub 9. A suitable dischargehose 42 leads from the sump to any suitable motor driven drain pump 43which may, as shown, be driven directly from the motor 22 and whichdischarges through an outlet conduit 44 to a valve 45 controlled by asuitable solenoid (not shown). Pump 43 is continually operated by themotor 22, and the draining of water from the sump 38 is controlled bythe drain valve, draining occurring upon energization of the solenoid.

For the apparatus described, any suitable sequence derived from thebasic sequence of washing, rinsing and spinning may be utilized toeffect a washing operation in the machine. Where so desired, additionalelements (not shown) may be provided in the machine so as to provide aheat drying operation to heat the clothes and cause vapor migration outof them until they are completely dry. This is a conventional feature,well known to those skilled in the art, and the added structure has notbeen shown in the present embodiment since it does not affect in any waythe operation of the machine insofar as the present invention isconcerned.

It is important to note that an operator will wish the clothes to be asdry as possible where a heat drying operation is not provided, so thatthe clothes will not drip when they are removed from the machine and canbe dried thereafter as quickly as possible. Also, where a heat dryingoperation is provided in the same machine, it is important that as muchliquid as possible be removed prior to the heat drying operation so thatthe length of time for the heat drying operation may be minimized asmuch as possible.

As previously mentioned, it has been found that in a centrifugingoperation it is not the squeezing together of the clothes by centrifugalforce that effects the removal of water from them, but the creation of ahydrostatic tension as a combined result of the capillary force actingthrough a layer of clothes formed of absorbent material and thecentrifugal force. As a result of this,

the clothes at the inside of a layer plastered around the wall of acontainer such as basket 8 are considerably drier than if the totalthickness of the layer be low, and are considerably drier than theoutside part of the layer. In order to take advantage of thisphenomenon, our invention contemplates the provision of absorbentmaterial 12 on the inside part of the outer wall of basket 8, so thatwhen clothes are spun in the basket during high speed rotation thereofthe material 12 will act as the outer part of the layer of clothes andwill cause a more effective drying of the clothes themselves for a givenrotational speed.

Of course, it is highly preferable that, prior to providing centrifugingin such a machine, the drain pump be caused to operate to remove allfreestanding water. This is preferably done in order to minimize thequantity of water passing through the absorbent material. The removal ofthe freestanding water without having it pass through the material 12may be effected in different ways. As one example, it can be seen inFIGURE 2 that material 12 is scparated into two layers 46 and 47 whichare separated by an amount sufficient to permit a ring of theperforations 11 to be unobstructedly exposed to the in side of thebasket 8.

As a result, the freestanding water will have these perforations todrain through, it being understood that during a certain period thedrain pump will be operated while slow speed rotation continues so thatthe water may be removed in this manner. Then, after the freestandingwater has been removed, the speed of the machine is increased aspreviously described, and the clothes will become plastered against thetwo sections 46 and 47 of the material 12. When this happens, the twosections become, in effect, the outer part of a layer of absorbentmaterial in which the clothes form the inner part. With thisarrangement, the clothes become substantially drier than would be thecase if they were in the basket without the absorbent material 12.

Thus, in summary, as a result of our utilizing material 12 as part ofthe outer wall of basket 8 in a structure where the basket is rotatableat centrifuging speeds, the effectiveness of the centrifuging isincreased.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, there is shown part of a basket 8 whereinthere is a perforated outer wall portion 10 as before, but wherein thematerial 12, rather than being separated into two solid imperforateaxially separated layers 46 and 47 as shown in FIGURE 2, is formed as asingle layer 48 which is perforated just in the same manner as the outerwall part 10. In this case, of course, the draining occurs through theperforations 49 formed in the layer 48. As before, the draining offreestanding water may be provided while the basket is rotating at aslow tumbling speed. Then, when the speed is increased so that theclothes are plastered against the layer 48, the material 12 will againact as the outer part of one thick layer which includes both theabsorbent material and the clothes; the clothes will consequently bedried to a greater extent for a given speed, in the same manner asbefore.

It will be understood that, while in accordance with the patent statuteswe have described what at present is considered to be the preferredembodiment of our invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in theart that various changes and modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from our invention, and it is therefore aimed in the appendedclaim to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of our invention.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

In a laundry centrifugal extraction machine:

(a) a rotatable clothes container,

(b) means for rotating said container at a speed sufficient tocentrifuge liquid out of clothes in said container,

(c) said container including an outer wall of sheet metal having aplurality of perforations over substantially the entire surface thereof,and

(d) a relatively thick liner of absorbent material coextensive with theinside of said outer wall and in continuous contact therewith, saidliner having a plurality of perforations therein, each of said linerperforations being in alignment with a corresponding one of said wallperforations to enhance the flow of water through said liner and out ofsaid container, said liner increasing the apparent thickness of clothesin the container to enhance the drying of the clothes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS SmithNov. 4, Tann July 21, Rickel Dec. 8, Tann Mar. 8, Tann Mar. 22, SmithMar. 28, Smith Mar. 28, Haverstock Jan. 23,

